Let's glance at the festivarian calendar for a moment: Just 3 days remain to enter the RockyGrass on-site camping lottery. 5 days remain until all 2011 festival tickets go on-sale. 195 days remain until the 38th Telluride Bluegrass. And 238 days remain until the 39th Annual RockyGrass.

That's a lot of days to spend dreaming of a hot mandolin break, a warm Colorado sun, and a cooling St. Vrain current. That's a lot of days to wonder what guitarists, fiddlers, and banjo players will summon the ancient tones under the Lyons cliffs this July.

So let's add one more date to the festivarian calendar: 0 days remain until the announcement of the preliminary RockyGrass lineup...

We're thrilled to announce the preliminary lineup for the 39th Annual RockyGrass Festival(July 29-31). From hallowed legends to bold young talents, traditional grit to progressive virtuosity, the 2011 lineup spans the breadth of bluegrass music.

The on-site campground is just 1 of 3 RockyGrass campgrounds, but if you're a picker it's just about bluegrass heaven. Camping passes for this campground are again being sold using an online lottery. Don't forget to submit your entry at bluegrass.com before 11:59pm MST on Sunday, December 5, then take a minute to remind your festivarian family to do the same.

All other festival passes, including camping under the dramatic St. Vrain cliffs in Meadow Park and a limited supply of holiday-discounted 3-day passes, will be available at 9am MST on Wednesday, December 8 at shop.bluegrass.com or 800-624-2422.

Nearly every space in the RockyGrass Academy(July 24-28) sold-out via its online lottery several weeks ago. But a very limited number of spots for novice fiddle and advanced bass will be available phone-only (800-624-2422) at 9am on Wednesday morning. For the lucky handful who registered for the sold-out songwriting class, we just announced your songwriting instructor: Tim O'Brien. (Yeah, we're in awe over this one, too.)

We're still hard at work confirming artists for Telluride Bluegrass (June 16-19), the Folks Festival(August 19-21), and The Song School(August 14-18). Watch for more official announcements in the coming weeks. And in the meantime, keep an eye on the Festivarian Forum – our excitement over the Telluride Bluegrass lineup might just be too much for us to keep secret any longer.

Demand for the RockyGrass Academy and Telluride Town Park lotteries were at historic levels – with entries coming in from around the world and nearly every U.S. state. Don't miss out on the $30 holiday discounts when all festival passes go on-sale next Wednesday at 9am MST. Our limited allotments may run out earlier than ever before.

Finally, if you haven't heard of the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass, take a moment to watch this clip. We're not sure who we're more inspired by – the brilliance and virtuosity of inaugural winner Noam Pikelny or the selfless vision and profound generosity of Steve Martin. Congratulations to you both from all of us at Planet Bluegrass.